Organisers of the popular springtime city marathon apply for prestigious new International Athletics Federation accreditation for 2020

Cape Town, 11 June 2019 – This year’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will be under close scrutiny by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) as the annual event aims to better its already-strong participant and spectator appeal by applying for the Federation’s new Platinum Label status. The marathon, which takes place on Sunday 15 September, is currently the only IAAF Gold Label-status marathon in Africa.

“When you run in an IAAF Road Race Label event, you get to experience an event run on truly world-class best-practice principles,” says Olympian long-distance runner and race ambassador Elana van Zyl-Meyer. “Not only does an IAAF Road Race Label event offer an excellent runner, spectator and media experience, it also yields great benefits for the development of the sport and helps fight the scourge of doping in sport.”

The new IAAF Platinum Label will be granted from 2020 to races meeting a full set of new requirements and regulations. These range from the inclusion of a quota of international elite athletes, validation of the course, and photo-finish devices, through well-staffed refreshment stations and sound electronic-timing data-processing and results reporting, to sufficient medical services and local and international television-broadcast support.

With international support for the South African springtime festival of running quickly ramping up, organisers of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon will this year need to increase marathon entries and further extend its international reach to 12.5% from the 82 countries represented last year.

Nadia Fetta, CEO of Sanlam Pan-Africa: General Insurance, says, “The best marathon runners of the world are from Africa and always had to travel the world to compete against the best. Having a world-class marathon on African soil allows runners from across the world to visit our continent and ultimately have a positive impact on our economy and the people of Africa. As Africa’s biggest insurer, Sanlam believes in the potential of this continent. It’s this belief that drives our pan-African expansion and decision to remain the proud naming-rights sponsor of Africa’s major marathon.”

This year’s weekend-long running event begins on Saturday 14 September with two Peace Trail Runs (22km and 12km) and a 5km Peace Run, followed by Sunday’s 42.2km marathon and a 10km Peace Run. For participants in the South African long-distance road-run, says Van Zyl-Meyer, “You get a taste of what it may be like to run the London Marathon or the Tokyo Marathon. Many of us in this country can’t afford to travel to such far-off destinations, so we’re focused on bringing home that quality of sport.” The marathon’s runner and spectator experience is universally recognised, with the Sports Industry Awards having granted it Mass Participation Event of the Year in 2018, alongside Runners World South Africa’s Event of the Year.

With sustainability a key catalyst in how the marathon develops year-on-year, programmes and initiatives run under the Run4Change legacy programme will begin to pick up the pace in the run-up to the event over the next 100 days. The marathon has announced that it hopes to achieve R3 million in total fundraising, with UCT’s medical students’ Scrub Run, the Childhood Cancer Foundation of South Africa’s Herd of Cows, and the testicular-cancer awareness project Love Your Nuts making a comeback.

Development of the sport will come under closer scrutiny too, with an IAAF Label workshop to be held for coaches and athletes highlighting the benefits of becoming a Label Status runner. Alongside this, ongoing support of the marathon’s official development partner, Endurocad, will be crucial in helping up-and-coming endurance athletes to compete on the international stage.

With the phenomenal natural beauty of the event route being a major drawcard, adherence to green principles and the protection of the route itself are critical. In line with IAAF Road Race Label classification tradition, an aspect of the marathon’s key sustainability drive will be upholding environmental-practice excellence. In 2017 the marathon won the AIMS Green Award and in 2018 it was again certified a climate-neutral event, achieving zero waste to landfill.

The City of Cape Town itself notches up annual global tourism and events awards, and city management is once again placing its full weight and support behind this year’s running event. Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security at the City of Cape Town, says, “Cape Town is the world’s leading festival and events destination, and it’s because of events like the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon that we’ve earned this badge of honour. Every entry into this prestigious race is a contribution to our efforts to grow the local economy through events, and creating job opportunities for locals, and for this, we thank you.”

Notes Van Zyl-Meyer, “Our aim has always been to become a member of the newly formed IAAF Platinum Label-status marathons and there’s little reason to believe that an African city marathon can’t be added to this family of world-class city marathons. Applying for IAAF Platinum Label classification brings us one step closer to that dream.”

Entries to this year’s marathon are open. To enter go to www.capetownmarathon.com For local runners wanting to investigate weekend special travel deals to Cape Town over the marathon weekend, visit Penthouse Travel Sporting Tours for fully inclusive packages or Tsogo Sun for accommodation deals.

Africa is my home, this is my race. It’s Cape Town, must run it!

#Run4Change
#ChallengeYourself; #ChallengeYourFriend; #CaptainsChallenge
#GeesofCapeTown #ctmarathon2019

For media enquiries, please contact:

CRAIG DUMMETT

PR for the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon

021-418-2466

082-072-4103

craig@transformmarketing.co.za

ABOUT THE SANLAM CAPE TOWN MARATHON

Africa’s GOLD, as Africa’s only IAAF Gold Label status marathon, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is an exhilarating festival of running that brings together runners, elite athletes, social joggers and surrounding communities to enjoy a spring weekend of running through Africa’s spectacularly beautiful Mother City.

The classic Olympian 42.2km marathon takes centre stage on the Sunday, which follows a 10km Peace Run in the morning, and two Peace Trail Runs (12km and 22km) and a 5km Peace Run/ Walk on the Saturday.

As Africa’s “must run” iconic city marathon, it aims to facilitate and leverage change at a national level through its Run4Change Legacy Programme, comprising five pillars:

• To focus on HEALTH and WELLNESS
• To become one of the biggest FUNDRAISING sporting events in South Africa
• To promote PEACE and SPORT
• To be a SUSTAINABLE event
• To DEVELOP and EMPOWER South African Athletes

Managed by a joint partnership through Western Province Athletics (WPA), ASEM Running and the City of Cape Town, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, to be held in September, is endorsed by Elana Van Zyl-Meyer and Francois Pienaar.

It offers a competitive yet beautiful route, providing runners with a unique experience that highlights the city’s natural splendor and top cultural attractions. The field is inclusive of the world’s elite athletes, club and non-club runners, casual joggers, social runners and walkers. Athletes and spectators can enjoy Cape Town’s unique festive atmosphere at safe, fun supporter zones along the route, and at the finish in Green Point.

http://www.capetownmarathon.com/

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Twitter and Instagram:  @CTMarathon and ctmarathon

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ABOUT SANLAM GROUP

Sanlam is a pan-African financial services group listed on the Johannesburg, Namibian and A2X stock exchanges. Through its five business clusters – Sanlam Personal Finance, Sanlam Pan Africa, Sanlam Investments, Sanlam Corporate and Santam – the Group provides comprehensive and bespoke financial solutions to institutional clients and consumers across all market segments. Sanlam’s areas of expertise include insurance (life and general), financial planning, retirement, investments and wealth. Established in 1918 as a life insurance company, Sanlam has become the largest non-banking financial services group in Africa, through its diversification strategy. Headquartered in South Africa, Sanlam has a direct stake in financial services entities in Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Mauritius, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria. It also owns SAHAM Finances Group, thereby having a footprint of insurance operations in Morocco, Angola, Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana, Niger, Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Burundi, and Lesotho, making it the largest non-banking financial services group in Africa. Sanlam also has exposure to insurance businesses in India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom and has business interests in the USA, Australia, the Philippines, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. For further information, visit www.sanlam.com or follow us @sanlam.